ABUJA (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will team up to build a $400-500 million gas pipeline in Nigeria in 2010, the general director of Gazprom International said on Thursday.

“We’ll participate in the construction of the first section of the pipeline from the southwestern areas of Nigeria to the north. This is about 360 km (224 miles) of gas pipeline,” Boris Ivanov said.
Ivanov said that if a trans-African gas pipeline were built, the Nigerian pipe would be its first section.
Gazprom and the NNPC are setting up a joint venture on a parity basis with a charter capital of $7.5 million and total investment exceeding $2 billion, Ivanov said, adding that the Russian energy giant had started talks on cooperation with the Nigerian company several years ago.
“The conclusion of this work is the establishment of a joint venture on a parity basis, which is extremely important,” Ivanov said.
The JV will involve joint projects in the field of oil and gas production and the construction of gas distribution networks, refining facilities, gas transportation infrastructure and power facilities, Ivanov said.
“The company has virtually started work as of today,” Ivanov said, adding that Nigeria had huge natural gas reserves.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who visited Nigeria on Wednesday and held talks with his Nigerian counterpart, said that Russia would invest billions of U.S. dollars in Nigeria’s energy sector.
“If we work together and implement our plans that are laid out in the documents signed by us, the volume of Russian investment in the Nigerian energy sector will measure billions of U.S. dollars. This applies to very large projects,” Medvedev said.
--------- Gazprom plans to have 10% of UK gas market by 2011: CEO
Gazprom plans to occupy 10% of the British energy market by 2011, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said on Friday at the Russian energy giant’s annual shareholders’ meeting. “Gazprom plans to account for 10% of the British market by 2011,” Miller said.
The Russian gas monopoly supplies some 7.55 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the UK annually.
Miller said the continuing liberalization of the European gas market was opening up new horizons for Gazprom, while the use of underground gas storage systems across Europe enabled it to make gas exports more flexible and sell more Russian natural gas.
The company has access to 50% of Britain’s Humbly Grove underground gas storage facility under a 5-year agreement it signed in 2005 with Switzerland’s Vitol.
Gazprom opened its UK office in early 1999. Gazprom Marketing & Trading sells wholesale gas with over 60 counterparts throughout Europe and has a strong retail customer base on the UK market.